Snowfall in Kedarnath, Harish Rawat among marooned visitors

Uttarakhand: Hundreds of pilgrims are left stranded after a fresh spell of snowfall in the Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines in Uttarakhand.

Among the ones stuck in their holy pilgrimage is former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat.

Rawat, along with Congress MP Pradeep Tamta, local MLA Manoj Rawat and other leaders from the party started trekking to the shrine on foot from Gaurikund in Rudraprayag district on Sunday.

The famous shrine, dedicated to Lord Shiva re-opened for pilgrims on April 29 this year.
Snowfall of about five inches has been reported from Kedarnath disrupting helicopter services and movement of pilgrims. The hills in Uttarakhand have been receiving rainfall as the meteorological center warned of rains and storm in the state.

Badrinath also received fresh snowfall this morning and at least two inches of snow has covered the area. Hemkund Sahib, too, received fresh snowfall.